Loosening the grip on cell phones

Monday

Jan 31, 2011 at 12:01 AM

By HILARY BENTMAN Staff Writer

Smart phones and other Web-enabled gadgets are challenging schools to rethink zero-tolerance policies, especially as these handhelds show their educational worth and are so intimately entwined in teen's lives.

It's lunchtime at Hatboro-Horsham High School and freshman Lauren Delfidio whips out her jewel-encased cell phone to check her text messages.

There was a time, not long ago, when doing so would have landed the 15-year-old in hot water. Using a cell phone during school hours was a definite no-no.

But Hatboro-Horsham recently started allowing students to use their phones, iPods, and iPads at certain spots in the building, including the hallways and cafeteria.

"The school is really chill about it," says Lauren.

For students like Lauren, knowing they can check their phone when the bell rings has meant they are less tempted to sneak an illegal peak during class time. Cell phone violations at Hatboro-Horsham dropped nearly 60 percent between the first and second semester of the policy's implementation.

Hatboro-Horsham students know their friends at other schools don't enjoy such freedoms. Many districts throughout the region still require personal devices to be tucked away in lockers, backpacks, or pockets during the school day.

But smart phones, iPods, and iPads are challenging schools to rethink this zero-tolerance policy, especially as these handheld gadgets are proving to have tremendous educational worth and are so intimately entwined in teen's lives.

"We're trying to be as friendly with the times as we possibly can," said Dennis Williams Jr., principal at Hatboro-Horsham. "This is the life our kids are growing up in. We don't want to strip them of something they've become absolutely dependent on."

Administrators say it's a balance. After all, they don't want students distracted by the devices or worse yet using them to cheat. But they also realize that trying to deprive kids of their phones for eight hours a day can be a losing battle.

"We spent so much energy chasing down phones and phone violations," said Williams, who acknowledges his own dependency on technology.

But not every school district is willing to follow Hatboro-Horsham's example, at least not yet.

In Central Bucks, for example, students are not permitted to use cell phones during school hours.

"The kids are more focused on school work," said district information technology director Ray Kase. "We provide all the devices kids use in school. At the high schools we have laptops and desktops all over the place."

It's a similar policy at Archbishop Wood High School in Warminster, where phones must be stored in lockers from 7:30 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.

"We realize it's the wave of the future but we're not going to embark upon a path without careful consideration," said Principal Mary Harkins.

But fellow archdiocesan school, Lansdale Catholic, has taken a much different approach.

The school can't afford to outfit every student with a laptop or netbook. So administrators are permitting kids to bring in their own gadgets for educational purposes.

Lansdale Catholic students are using iPod touch devices to take notes in class, photograph images on the board, and access the Internet.

Apps for the iPod touch and smart phones - both of which allow users access to the Internet - are also proving educationally and financially worthwhile.

Graphing calculators, necessary for higher level math and science, can cost $100 or more. But now students can download a free or cheap app that performs the same function.

"It's our world," said Lansdale Catholic Principal Tim Quinn. "The kids will show us the way. They are the digital natives. We're the digital immigrants."

Still, the school has rules. Kids are not permitted to talk on phones during class and if a teacher says put it away, they must comply. Violating these rules can lead to fines and confiscation of the devices.

"We have to teach them there are appropriate times," said Quinn. "There are always people who don't follow rules. But with more rules come more criminals."

Quinn should know. He used to be the school's disciplinarian. Students told him that forcing them to keep their cell phones in their pocket wasn't preventing texting - they know the keyboard well enough to text blindly.

As for the devices being a distraction, Quinn said kids don't need technology to tune out. If they are not engaged in a lesson, anything can be a distraction.

Back at Hatboro-Horsham, some students complain their school's technology policy doesn't go far enough; they'd like the freedom to text in class.

But freshman Jess Milovsky isn't objecting.

"I'd rather have this than no phones," she said. "We're there to learn. We're not there to text in class."

As for 14-year-old Kiersten Cox, her only complaint is she gets spotty cell reception in school with her carrier.

Hilary Bentman can be reached at 215-538-6380 or hbentman@phillyBurbs.com. Follow Hilary on Twitter at twitter.com/HilaryBentman

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